, was with president obama and governor chris christie today. senator, great to have you with us. you were right in the middle of all of those discussions today and getting up close as to what is happening. i understand that you're going through some pretty tough times as a resident of new jersey, as well, so you know firsthand what the heck is going on. but i want to focus, if i can, senator, on the climate that's in washington and what we're seeing play out in your state. clearly, there is a difference when it comes to cooperation. how effective is it? >> well, it's been very effective, ed. you know, these aren't republican communities or democratic communities. they're american communities. and today we saw the best of that in terms of the president, along with the governor and other elected officials from the federal government, myself, senator lautenberg, congressman lobianzo from that section of the state and all the way down. so the bottom line is, this is about taking caring all we were sworn to take care of. the president is every american, the government is every new jerseyian, and mys